Luís Ribeiro – exhibition of a modern Goalkeeper

Luís Ribeiro (Estoril Praia) and a modern exhibition against Sporting CP.

In the defeat of Estoril, 2-0 against Sporting CP in february 25, Luís Ribeiro took the lead as the the home team guardian – against the team that have formed him as an athlete – after Moreira´s injury. Since the team mate injury, the Portuguese youngster has been delighting everyone. In this particular game he showed abilities of a modern goalkeeper in regards to the distribution and specially in depth control, avoiding several dangerous throws from Sporting, in situations where the ball was in the back of Estoril´s defense.

It is important to note, first, Estoril defense´s upfront positioning, and how they pressed the opposing team. This behaviour inhibited a better quality in short pass and forced Sporting to resort to the long pass to the back of the defense. Below is an example of this positioning, where one of Sporting’s midfielders is on the ball:

Image 1: William Carvalho (on the ball) had 3 passing lines

The passing lines are:

b) long ball to Gelson

c) between lines to Alan ruiz or in width to the right back Schelotto

d) long ball in depth to Gelson

The high positioning (a) of Estoril´s defense forced a long pass from William Carvalho, that ended up putting the ball between Gelson and Schelotto.

Based on this positioning, the goalkeeper’s role (in theory, as in practice sometimes it does not apply) is to play like a defender and intercept the ball in depth. That’s exactly what Luís Ribeiro did perfectly during the first part of this game. Let us see some examples:

Image 2: Beginning of the play. The player with the ball puts the ball in depth. Estoril´s defense has 2 players to 1 opponent.

Image 3: Luís Ribeiro getting up almost to the midfield, understanding the play, in order to intercept the ball avoiding the danger.

Let’s see another play that shows the offensive positioning of Luís Ribeiro:

Image 4: The player of Estoril delays the ball of head to the empty space that would be occupied by Luís Ribeiro (having previously noticed the high position of the goalkeeper). He played short and Bas Dost immediately pressured the ball.

Image 5: Area where Luís Ribeiro intercepts the ball, with Bas Dost pressure. The line represents the positioning between the box and the midfield, at the central lane.

Luís Ribeiro performed four actions of this type, out of the area, during the first half of the game. He was crucial to fulfill the strategy outlined for the match by creating troubles to Sporting´s intention of verticality in the offensive process with long balls to explore the defense of Estoril.

The distribution, was another interesting point in Luís Ribeiro performance.

The ease with which he was available for the passing line recessed to his defense must be highlighted. With calm and serenity in each decision and technical skills, he offered the necessary security for the team to try to build up from behind. In addition, another strategic aspect: the need for long balls for Licá. Most of Luís Ribeiro’s long passes in this match, with or without offensive opponents, went to the right wing, which was positioned at the front of the field in full width.

In short, a remarkable exhibition, without having to make interventions with the hands. With the feet, passing or intercepting and controlling the depth, the young Portuguese Luís Ribeiro showed his growth and confidence, being more and more comfortable out of the area. He is known for his ability between the posts and also for having a defensive stance of the game (closer to the goal). A great maturity exhibition.

Related

"A Última Barreira" is a project that was born in January, 2014, to answer a need in Portugal: improve the goalkeeper position. To achieve that, we inform, discuss and analyse the goalkeepers actions in game to better understanding of their role on the field and conclude what can be done to avoid the error.
A Última Barreira é um projecto que existe desde Janeiro, 2014 para responder a uma necessidade em Portugal: melhorar a posição de guarda-redes. Para tal informamos, discutimos e analisamos acções dos mesmos em jogo para melhor compreensão do seu papel em campo e retirar uma posterior conclusão do que poderia ser feito de melhor para evitar o erro.